Dubai hosts prosecutors conference

Dubai: Nineteen worksheets will enrich the work of front-line public prosecutors as the sixth International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) Middle East and Asia-Pacific Regional Conference kicks off tonight in Dubai.

Dubai Public Prosecution (DPP) is hosting the three-day conference for the first time in the Middle East, under the patronage and in the presence of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

"The theme is topic-al and representative of the fast-paced, technology-driven life of today's world. We are confident that the enlightened discourses by the expert participants and their direct interaction will be in an interesting experience, and will further enrich the work of vanguard public prosecutors in the Middle East, Asia and Pacific regions," said Essam Eisa Al Humaidan, Dubai Attorney General.

Al Humaidan and Francois Falletti, IAP's president and Prosecutor General at the Court of Aix en Provence (South of France), will give the keynote addresses to dozens of prosecutors and members of the justice industry, representing more than 48 countries, during the grand opening tonight at the Atlantis Hotel.

DPP's Senior Advocate General Yousuf Hassan Al Mutawaa told Gulf News in an exclusive interview last week: "We are planning to become the No 1 public prosecution worldwide. It's our right to work on spearheading public prosecutions, regionally and internationally, and become No 1 in terms of law enforcement, achieving justice, neutrality and integrity and endorsing best prosecution practices."

Baqer Abdul Wahid, DPP's head of Public Relations Section, said an award for the conference's best coverage in the Arabic and English-language media was instituted in a major effort to raise public awareness of legal and judicial issues.

Milestone

"The event is an important milestone in the evolution of public prosecution in the UAE. The purpose of the award is to raise the bar for media reporting on legal and judicial issues. The first two winners in each, Arabic and English category, receives Dh10,000 and Dh5,000, respectively."

Advocate General Khalifa Bin Deemas, head of the Attorney General's Technical Office and member of the conference's Higher Organising Committee, said worksheets will focus on the involvement of IT in prosecutors' performance and risk management. "DPP will participate with four worksheets focusing on the implementation of technology in prosecutors' jobs from when the investigation begins and the issuing of the charges sheet until the case's referral to court," he told a media conference last week.

The Address Hotel, DownTown Burj Dubai, hosts the second and third days of the conference titled "Public Prosecution in the 21st Century."

Use of IT in the prosecution process and risk management will be key topics for the meeting. The first topic covers the best practices in investigation techniques and use of IT in litigation. The second topic includes anti-corruption measures for the prosecution service and protection of parties of litigation — victims, suspects, witnesses, and prosecutors and evidence and data protection.

Info

For further information, those interested can visit the conference's special websites www.dppevents.ae and www.dpp.events.com (available in English and Arabic).